This invention relates generally to cable reels and more specifically to the stacking of cable reels for storage and transport.
Cable reels have long been used for transporting and storing bulk wire and cable such as telecommunications cable, electrical wire, bailing wire, wire rope, and the like. A typical cable reel is formed with a pair of spaced apart disc-shaped flanges joined by a central tubular core. Wire or cable is spirally wound around the central core between the spaced flanges until the reel is filled. Filled reels can then be stacked atop one another for shipment and storage. When it is desired to remove the wire or cable from the reel for use, it is simply pulled progressively from the reel, which may be mounted on an arbor or spindle to rotate and thus pay out the wire or cable. If only a portion of the wire or cable is used, the free end of the remaining portion may be secured to one of the flanges of the reel, whereupon the reel can be stored until future use. A variety of U.S. patents illustrate these types of cable reels, including U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,305 of Picton, U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,333 of Jacques, and others.
Cable reels of the type discussed above are simple in basic configuration yet function exceptionally well for storing large amounts of wire or cable in a compact space. Nevertheless, the efficient and effective stacking of cable reels atop one another for transport or storage has long presented a challenge to cable and wire manufacturers and users for a variety of reasons. This is particularly true for mid-sized and larger reels, which can be exceedingly heavy when filled with wire or cable. Cable reels usually are stacked for transport or storage by upending the reels and stacking them in an end-on-end relationship with the flange of one reel resting on the flange of the reel beneath. When so stacked, the reels must be aligned with one another to form neat and efficient stacks and must be secured so that one reel does not slide off of the reel beneath it when the stack is transported. Aligning the reels in a stack often is done manually or with tools such as fork lifts. Securing the reels against sliding may be accomplished by lashing the reels down or to one another, securing them to each other with fasteners, or wrapping several stacks in, for instance, a plastic wrap atop a pallet. Such brute force techniques of stacking, aligning, and securing cable reels is time and energy consuming, inefficient, and does not always work satisfactorily.
Attempts have been made to improve upon the traditional storage and transport of cable reels. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,397 of Thompson discloses a reel rack made of metal that is suited for use in the storage and transporting of reels of wire or cable. The reel rack disclosed in Thompson is a metal rack designed to support a number of cable reels in their normal, i.e. not upended, orientations in a manner similar to the way an egg crate supports eggs. Loaded reel racks may be stacked atop one another for storing or transporting the reels. Problems with such a solution include the fact that a large number of the auxiliary metal reel racks, which are heavy and bulky, must be stored and maintained. Further, stacking cable reels in this way wastes significant space compared to stacking them end-on-end such that fewer reels can be stored in a given space as compared to end-on-end stacking.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved cable reel designed so that a plurality of such reels can be stacked atop one another end-on-end without requiring tedious and time consuming alignment and securing of the individual reels in the stack. The reels should be substantially self aligning when stacked and should not slip or slide on reels beneath them in the stack, all without the requirement for elaborate lashing or securing techniques or ancillary fasteners. It is to the provision of such a cable reel that the present invention is primarily directed.
Briefly described, the present invention, in one preferred embodiment thereof, comprises a cable reel having a pair of spaced apart disc-shaped flanges between which a tubular central core extends. The flanges preferably are made of injection molded plastic and include standard cable reel features such as start holes, a dog hole, tie holes, and a central arbor hole. A circular core groove is formed in the inside faces of the flanges for receiving, locating, and securing the ends of the core and bolt holes are provided for bolting the components of the assembled reel together securely. Each flange of the cable reel has an upstanding peripheral rim that has an exposed edge extending around and facing away from the outside face of the flange. The exposed edge of each rim is contoured or shaped to define a repeating wave-like or serpentine pattern that extends around the flange. When one cable reel is upended and stacked atop another cable reel with a flange of the top reel resting on the flange of the bottom reel, the serpentine edges of the rims of each reel intermesh and lock with each other. The intermeshing of the serpentine edges causes the upper reel to align itself automatically and precisely with the lower reel. At the same time, the intermeshed edges, in conjunction with the often substantial weight of the upper reel, locks the two reels together such that the upper reel is prevented from sliding off of the lower reel during transport. Since the two stacked reels are aligned and securely locked together by their intermeshed serpentine edges, no auxiliary straps, fasteners, or other means of securing the reels together are required. Accordingly, when it is desired to remove reels from a stack of reels, they need only be lifted from the stack without the need to remove ancillary fasteners.